Dear friend, today we are observing Good Friday, the day when Jesus chose to die for us. Let us meditate on Galatians 5:24, which says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”. Yes, we belong to Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus died for us, we should also crucify our sinful nature on the cross. Jesus says to us, “If you want to follow Me, you have to deny yourself and carry your cross”. What does ‘denying ourselves’ mean? In Romans 6:6, it says, “We should no longer be slaves to sin”, that is, we should say ‘no’ to any kind of sin. My husband, Dr Paul, has sung a song, which goes like this: “If you are tempted in weakness, have courage, my boy, say no. Have courage, my girl, say no”. The devil always tries to tempt us to say ‘yes’ to sin, but we should have the courage to say ‘no’ because we are no longer slaves to sin, because God has crucified our sins on the cross. Yes, He has cancelled your sins and has put them behind His back. 

The Bible also says in Titus 2:12 that the grace of God teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions. It also teaches us to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Whenever we are tempted, we have to do like Paul did. Paul says in I Corinthians 9:27, “No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize”. He also said, “I discipline my body not to sin anymore”. How can we discipline our bodies into not sinning? By keeping ourselves holy through the word of God. Every day as we go through the words in the Bible, the Lord cleanses us. When we thus surrender our bodies for God to dwell in us, God will help us not to sin. That's what the Bible says in Galatians 5:16: “Let the Holy Spirit guide your life, then you will not gratify your sinful nature”. This is because the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. He even intercedes with groanings that words cannot utter.  

A dear Sister named Swarna from Rajahmundry testified like this: Her husband was addicted to alcohol for 13 long years, and they went through problems in their family because of this. Eventhough her husband wanted to leave his addiction, he was unable to do so and was turning farther away from God. Due to this, both the husband and wife decided to live separately as they were facing a lot of problems, both mentally and financially. In this situation, in February 2025, both the husband and the wife attended the Eluru Partners Meeting. After the meeting, we prayed for the people individually, and this couple went to our son, Sam, for prayer. After the prayer, miraculously, the Lord touched her husband and delivered him, and as they were returning home, they met with an accident. But God graciously saved their lives. After the prayer, her husband said ‘no’ to sin and started following God. Now the Lord has honoured her husband with a profession in a college where he is working as a professor and leading a happy married life. My friend, those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them. God will help you, too. Say ‘no' to alcohol. Say ‘no’ to temptation. Say ‘no’ to all of your sinful nature. Today, the Lord will help you, dear friend.

PRAYER: 
Heavenly Father, thank You for the power of the cross in my life. Today, I choose to say no to every sin and temptation. Give me the will to deny myself and follow You wholeheartedly. Cleanse me daily through Your Word and make me holy. Holy Spirit, guide me and strengthen me in my weaknesses. Help me to discipline my body and walk in righteousness. Break every chain that tries to pull me back into sin. Let my life reflect Your grace and truth each day. I surrender my desires and choose Your will above all. In Jesus’ mighty name, I pray.  Amen.